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Mike Ness
Mike Ness (born Michael James Ness on April 3, 1962) is the band leader and founder of Social Distortion. Biography Ness was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on April 3, 1962, and raised in Orange County, California. Kicked out of his parents' home in Fullerton at the age of fifteen, he dabbled in drugs and petty crime, involving himself in the punk scene. As a member of The Band Easter with Danny Dean, Chad Carrier and Korky Ollerton, Mike Ness was the original owner of the one-bedroom apartment described in The Adolescents song, "Kids of the Black Hole". The punk house was located in Fullerton, Calfiornia in the 1980s. Ness formed Social Distortion in 1978 when he was 16 years old, and the band released releasing the Mainliner/Playpen 7" record on Robbie Field's indie label, Posh Boy Records three years later. After embarking on a national tour in 1982, Social Distortion managed to record their first album Mommy's Little Monster, issued in 1983 by 13th Floor Records which was owned by their manager at the time, Monk Rock. Ness was featured in the independent film Another State of Mind, which chronicled Social Distortion's first cross-country tour with Youth Brigade. Five years passed before Social Distortion released their next album, 1988's Prison Bound on the heels of Ness's recovery from drug addiction. Ness briefly was employed as a house painter and assistant speech therapist in an elementary school in the mid 1980s. After signing to Epic Records in 1989, Social Distortion's success peaked in 1990 and 1992 respectively, with a number of US hit singles, including the classic singles "Ball and Chain", "Story of My Life" (which both remain a crowd favorite today) and "Bad Luck", which reached number 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, marking the highest initial charting single in Social Distortion's career. From there, Social Distortion has since gone on to become one of the most influential bands in the rock music genre, and although Ness is the only constant member, is still performing and releasing records to this day. Despite Social Distortion's many member changes in their 30-year history, the current lineup of Mike Ness, Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham, Brent Harding and Atom Willard has remained constant since 2009. During Social Distortion's hiatus in the mid-1980s, Ness performed in the band Easter from 1986-1988 and was in the music video for the songs "Slipping Away" and "Lights Out". Ness left the band in 1988 to focus on Social Distortion. Ness currently lives in Newport Beach, California. He is an avid collector of retro ephemera and hot rods, owning a 1947 Chevy and a 1936 Ford. In 2003 he founded Black Kat Kustoms with "long time hot rodder and builder," Don Nemarnik. Black Kat Kustoms is an expression of his love for hot rods, bikes, and counter-culture clothing. Solo Work The following is Ness' solo work. Please see the Discography page for his work with Social Distortion. * Cheating at Solitare (1999) * Under the Influences (1999) Ness, Mike